Love's Not Lost
by wizkid555
Summary: Ron and Herione must save each other to escape from the room of requirement, but not before exposing their deepest secrets.  a R/H story
1. Save Me!

The smell of parchment and fresh ink had always attracted Hermione Granger, so it was only natural to find her studying in Hogwarts' library. Lying flat on its spin in front of the young witch was a newly bound copy of _A Brief History of Muggle Monarchs in the Wizarding World_. Hermione was quietly reading chapter eight about the political conflicts between Henry VIII and one of his wives, who happened to be a prominent witch of the era.

While quickly finishing the last line of the chapter, Hermione's ear twitched. She heard the familiar sound of a sprinting Ron Weasley and looked up at her friend.

"Hermione!" Ron gasped while panting.

"Well Ronald, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Snape was walking by the common room and I thought it would be funny to trick Seamus into mix some lilix power with that red stuff you gave me for Christmas…and throw it at Snape."

"RON! That _red stuff_ was Dragon Puff! Mixed with lilix power, it'll -"

"Explode, I know," Ron interrupted. "It was great, and you should have seen the look on Snape's face too, but Seamus ratted me out when Snape saw him, that weasel, and know Snape looks like he's gonna breathe fire…ON ME!"

"Well, it is your fault, you know," Hermione said as she reopened he book.

"But Hermione, you gotta help me. He's gonna torture me! Can you imagine Snape's Cruciatus curse? It'll be brutal!"

Hermione looked up at Ron. She knew that she couldn't say _no_ to that face, especially since it belonged to the man she loved.

"Alright, follow me," she said, and they were off. Hermione quickly slammed her book shut and grabbed Ron's hand (which Ron didn't seem to mind). She ran out of the Library and down a corridor. As they ran, torches spontaneously lighted up to reveal the dark corridor ahead. Ron and Hermione ran as fast as they could. Hermione made a left turn at the end of the hallway and kept going. Farther and farther into the castle they ran, but Snape was still behind them. They could hear his voice calling for Ron. Suddenly, Hermione stopped.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked her.

"Saving you, what do you think I'm doing?" She replied.

"But there's nothing here! If you wanted to go to the common room, you should have made a right."

"Ronald, will you shut up for once and trust me!"

Hermione took out her want and made a figure-eight with it in the air. Then she tapped a tile on the floor and yelled "_Alohomora_."

"Hermione, are you completely mental? There's no lock's out here for you to open! Why are you-," but before Ron could finish, a picture of a lion appeared on the tile. Then the floor shook and a small hole appeared in the floor. Hermione grinned and jumped in, followed by Ron.

Once underground, Hermione looked up and yelled "_Ascendio,_" and the tile shot back up, filling the hole that the two students had just crawled through.

Hermione turned to Ron and said," Now, what were you were saying?"

CH2

"Hermione, what the bloody hell was that?" asked Ron.

"Well, if you must know, I was reading about a secret passage that Godric Gryffindor made in the castle last week in _Hogwarts, A History_. Thought it would come in handy, and it did!" She said enthusiastically.

"But how did you find it? I thought the passage was lost."

"Well, I did a little snooping and found it. Honestly Ron, didn't you realize me being absent from dinner last weekend?"

Ron didn't answer, but inside he wanted to say yes. Of course he noticed Hermione's absence, she meant everything to him! In fact, he was worried sick, but was too shy to ask Hermione what she was doing.

"We better get a move on it. I – uh – don't want to be late for dinner," said Ron.

Hermione glared at him and took charge. She told Ron to walk down the dark passageway that she lit with the tip of her wand.

"Hermione, exactly how many times have you been down here?" Ron asked

"Technically, none. But that's ok because I have keen intuition and an idea of where we're going," she replied.

"Great, just want I wanted to hear," Ron said sarcastically.

"Well Ronald, if you want to lead the wa -"

Hermione had stopped, and for good reason. Ron looked over the witch's shoulder and saw that the small path had turned into a massive dome-shaped building filled with everything imaginable.

"Hermione, where are we?"

"I think w..we're in the r…room of requirement," Hermione stuttered.

Without warning, the entrance to the hidden pathway sealed itself behind Ron and Hermione. The two said nothing, but gave each other a worried expression, and walked forward. As they walked, they noticed that they had never seen this part of the room of requirement before, and decided that it was probably the opposite side of the room away from the entrance.

"Hey Hermione," Ron said, "I just wanted to tell you that…"

He paused, thinking that what he was about to say could somehow backfire.

"Yah," said Hermione.

"I –uh – just wanted to tell you that I _did_ notice you weren't at supper last Saturday and Sunday."

His palms were sweaty and hot. Hermione turned and said nothing. _Oh no _thought Ron. _What have I done! That was stupid, _Weasley_. Why not tell her that you just love her, you as-_

"Thanks Ron"

"Oh, no problem."


	2. A Box of BItterness

CH3

"Well, now that we're here, might as well find the way out," said Ron as he looked around the room aimlessly.

"Ron, it's not as simple as that. We're on the other side of the room of requirement. I've never been here, and I bet neither have you, so we're lost," Hermione said.

"Great, just what I needed," said Ron sarcastically.

"If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!"

But before Ron could answer snobbishly, Hermione turned around and kept walking. "_Why did I say that_" was the phrase that kept rolling through Ron's head. He knew that he was acting like a spoiled child, but he couldn't help it. He didn't know what possessed him, but the phrase kept bubbling up in his mind like Hermione's cauldron in Potions class the day before. Then, he thought, he had a chance to ask Hermione out on a date, but now…

"RON! For heaven's sake, keep up, will you. It's bad enough that you're not helping, but don't skulk around like that, ok?"

Hermione's voice broke Ron's concentration, and he realized that she was already twenty feet ahead of him.

"Sorry," he said.

"Just try to keep up with me."

Again, Hermione turned around and continued walking. "_Why did I say that_" was the phrase that kept rolling through her head. She knew that he was acting like a spoiled child, but he's just nervous. He always acts like this when he's nervous. She didn't know what possessed her, but the phrase kept bubbling up in her mind like Ron's cauldron in Potions class the day before. Then, she thought, he might have asked her out on a date, but now…

"Hermione, look at this!" shouted Ron.

His voice had broken her concentration. As she turned, she saw Ron holding a black box with gold edges and silver handles.

"We don't have time for this, Ronald. Put the box down…please."

"But maybe Harry would like it as a present. I mean, his birthday is in a week."

"It's a loving sentiment, but we don't have time for this. And anyways, it belongs to the person who left it here, so if you take it you would be stealing it."

But Ron wasn't listening. He was admiring his newly found possession.

"I wonder what's inside?" Ron said

"Come off it Ron, I'm serious."

"And I'm not serious?" Ron said sternly. Hermione looked at Ron in shock and waved her wand in the air.

"_Accio box,_" she yelled and the object flew out of Ron's hands and into Hermione's. But, the lid was already off and inside was darkness. Utter darkness.

Hermione felt strange looking into the box's content's; into nothingness. She raised her head and felt empty, forgetting entirely about the box. Ron was standing in front of her smiling sinisterly. His eyes weren't the normal blue that Hermione dreamed about every night. They were darker.

"Look at you," the darker Ron said in a deeper voice than his own.

"Ron, what's going on?"

"Just look at you," Ron repeated.

"Ron, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? I'm telling you what you need to hear. I'm…helping you."

Hermione didn't know what was going on around her, but didn't move. She couldn't.

Ron kept talking. "Don't you ever wonder what I think about you? What others think of you? How I _feel_ about you? I know you do, I can see it. You read you books but they can't help. You talk to friends, but they can't help. You talk to Harry, but he can't help." He paused. "But you know what can help, Hermione?"

Hermione felt her heart beat, he knees shake, but most of all, she could feel her eyes start to water.

"W…W…What?" she said nervously.

"Me. I can help. I can tell you what you most desire, 'Mione."

Hermione said nothing and waited for Ron to say something else.

"I can tell you, that I HATE YOU!"

Ron was screaming now and Hermione fell backwards. She didn't know what just happened, but kept listening to Ron, who had started to walk towards her now.

"I HATE YOU. I'VE ALWAYS HATED YOU! YOU INSULT ME AND TEASE ME AND PUT ME DOWN. HOW COULD ANYONE LOVE _YOU_? OH, THAT'S RIGHT, KRUM! DIDN'T THINK I FORGOT. YOU TWO LOVE EACH OTHER, DON'T YA! ONLY THINGS YOU LOVE MORE THAN HIM ARE YOUR BOOKS!"

Hermione was speechless and angry. She was about to scream back when Ron stopped.

"But that's not the worst part, Hermione. Truth is, I hate you the most because of something else that you are. I hate you because you're a mudblood. A filthy, stinking mudbl-imy"

Ron was standing in front of Hermione, and she could see that his eyes weren't black anymore, but in fact, they were the same blue as before.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked in his normal voice, but Hermione was still crying on the floor. Ron was holding the box in his hands, which he took out of Hermione's.

"GO AWAY!" she yelled at him as she shoved Ron away from her.

"What?"

"I SAID GET OFF OF ME!"

Ron was at a loss for words. He just stared at her as he got up off the floor. Hermione was trying to get up but stumbled onto her feet.

"Hermione, what just happened?"

"YOU! YOU JUST HAPPENED…JUST HAPPENED TO RUIN MY LIFE!"

She turned and ran faster than Ron had ever seen her run before. Ron watched as his love vanished.


	3. Lost in Life

CH4

Ron was utterly confused; what had made Hermione so angry like that? He looked at the box, which he had taken out of Hermione's hands. Its lid, which Ron put back on the box, had some etchings in the upper right corner.

I poured me fears into

This box and now it is

The thing I fear most

Ron didn't understand what this meant, but Hermione would know. He looked up and didn't see Hermione anymore. She probably ran behind a large pile of forgotten objects. Quickly, Ron grabbed his belongings, and the box, and trotted forward.

Surprisingly, Hermione was not as close as Ron had hoped. She wasn't behind any nearby piles or sitting on top of any piles. However, Ron could still hear a faint voice crying. He knew that it was Hermione.

"Hermione!" he yelled. "Hermione! Where are you?"

The calls were no use. Even if Hermione could hear them, she was so angry at Ron (for reasons that he still didn't understand) that she would ignore him completely.

"Hermione, please! I can't do this without you." Ron hushed his tone so only he could hear his voice and said, "I can't do anything without you."

There was still nothing.

Ron started to talk to himself, "What could I have done? I didn't say anything about her stupid cat; I didn't talk about stupid Krum; I didn't even say anything! I swear, women are impossible."

He looked down at the box and up again.

"I'm even _more_ lost know then before. Can this day get any worse?"

Ron rose to his feet and looked at a clock hanging from an upside down chair halfway up a pile of junk.

"Oh great! I've missed dinner!"

And with that, Ron walked with his books in one hand and the box in another. After about thirty minutes of walking through every sort of misplaced and random objects, Ron stopped and looked around for some food.

"Come on, I'll eat anything. If it's edible I'll take it," he said.

But it was no use because Ron only found clocks, wheels, rubber ducks, and a broken fake wand. Discouraged, Ron sat on the cold stony ground and picked up the black box.

"You know," he said, "Hermione started acting crazy after she looked at you."

Ron waited for something to happen, but the box was completely still in Ron's hands.

Ron continued, "So, if that's the case, you're the one who made my Hermione angry at me, which make me angry at you."

Again, Ron paused hoping that the box would react to what he was saying. Unfortunately, it still lay motionless in Ron's palm.

"Wonder what's inside of you that makes girls hate me so much."

Ron put the box down and took three steps back. With his wand in his hand, he opened the box.

Nothing happened. The box had nothing inside of it, which was the complete opposite of what Ron was expecting.

"Maybe it's a Bogart that's too scared to leave its home," Ron said to himself.

Suddenly, a thin black and hairy leg emerged from inside the box. Ron froze as another, and another, and another appeared, each a foot long. Then, two four inch pinchers and eight brown beady eyes appeared. Ron knew what was happening. He was about to face his greatest fear: a spider.

The eight-legged monster finally can out of its home and stared at Ron, who seemed petrified.

"I…I…I'm not afraid o…o…of you," Ron stuttered to the spider, which still hadn't moved.

"Of course you are," said a deep voice soothingly to Ron. "You have always been afraid of me, but trust me, I won't bite."

Ron knew now that the spider was talking to him. He didn't know what to say.

"A…a…are you a b…b…Bogart?" Ron asked.

"No child, I am - , "but the spider stopped himself. "Interesting, how very interesting. It seems that I have arrived incorrectly." The arachnid had stressed the last word of his sentence.

It then moved backwards and evaporated into black smoke. Ron now looked at the box, which flipped itself right-side up. More black smoke erupted from the box and formed the body of a person, of Hermione.

"Just look at you," she said in a slightly deeper voice than her own.

"What is this?"

"Just look at you," Hermione repeated.

"What's going on?"

"Ronald, I'm telling you what you need to hear. I'm…helping you."

"Helping me? How are you _helping _me?"

"Don't you ever wonder what I think about you? What others think of you? How I _feel_ about you? I know you do, I can see it. You talk to friends, but they can't help. You talk to Harry, but he can't help." She paused. "But you know what can help, Ronald?"

"What?" he said bitterly.

"Me. I can help. I can tell you what you most desire, Ronald."

Ron stood up and walked to the dark Hermione. He realized that her eyes weren't the brown that he looked at when she red in the library. They were darker now.

"Well _Hermione_, let me help you with something, this whole plan of yours to make me snap like the real Hermione isn't working, so get lost or I'll bloody well make you leave!"

Ron's voice seemed to have momentarily shocked the dark Hermione, but the feeling was fleeting.

"But Ronald, I _am_ the real Hermione. Don't you want to hear what I have to –"

"No," Ron interrupted, "I don't want to hear anything you say because you're not Hermione. YOU'RE NOT MY HERMIONE!"

"HOW DARE YOU YELL AT ME," the dark Hermione yelled back at Ron. "I'LL TEACH YOU SOME MANNERS!"

The dark Hermione suddenly grew three feet.

Ron stepped back and dove for the black box through dark Hermione's legs while the giant girl bent at the waist and tried to grab Ron's foot in midair. Ron looked up as he put the lid back on the box and saw no giant dark Hermione, but as he looked in front of him, he saw two brown eyes that he knew belonged to only one person.

The real Hermione was on her knees next to Ron with her hand on lid of the box like his.


	4. Say What You Saw

CH5

"Hermione!" Ron seemed to have shouted uncontrollably.

"H…Hello Ron," Said Hermione. She didn't seem like herself. Her eyes were red and puffy, and Ron knew all too well that this meant Hermione was recently crying.

"Hermione, what's going on?" Ron asked her.

"Uh, well, you know, saving you sorry backside. Nothing I'm not accustomed too," She added quickly.

Ron couldn't think of what to say next, so he helped Hermione off of the floor and hugged her. Ron was surprised, however, when Hermione continued to surround him in her embrace.

Unknowledgeable in such situations, Ron slowly pulled away. Hermione didn't look pleased.

Blushing, Ron picked up the box that had caused them so much trouble and handed it to Hermione.

"What is it?" he asked.

Hermione red the small engraving on the lid's corner and sighed.

"I think it's a Box of Dejection," she replied while closely examining the black container.

"I've never hear of those."

"Well, of course not. These things have been banned for ages by the ministry."

"What do they do?"

"Well, you basically tell the box your bad feelings and it absorbs them, kinda."

"Whadaya mean, _kinda_? Does it or not?"

"It's dark magic Ronald. You're not support to play with it! There aren't many texts left about them, ever since the Department of Magical Law Enforcement really cracked down on them. In fact, it would be safe to say that this might be the last one in existence."

"What made the Ministry confiscate them?"

"They backfire. You saw what it did to us once we opened it. Our worst fears came out and tried to tourcher us."

Ron looked back at the box and said nothing. Hermione was doing the same.

"But why couldn't I see your fear when you looked into the box?" asked Ron.

"Like I said, dark magic. I guess only the observer can see his or her deepest fear," Hermione answer in her teacher-like voice.

"What do ya reckon we do with it?" Ron asked.

"I'd suppose we just throw it back."

"But then someone else could find it," Ron said sternly.

"I guess you're right," said Hermione.

She took the box and threw it over a nearby pile of objects and shot a spell at it from her wand. Immediately, the box exploded into black, gold, and green embers forty feet in the air. Ron was pleasantly surprised at how far Hermione could throw.

"You know Hermione; you should try you for the Quidditch team. Just don't try to be Keeper, you hear? That's my job" he said playfully.

"Don't push me Ronald or I just might."

Both of them laughed and walked forward in silence. Neither knew what to say to each other, especially after all that just happened. Ron could tell that Hermione was thinking about something deeply and decided that it was best not to disturb her, especially since Hermione hated to be disturbed while in a thought.

Neither Ron nor Hermione knew how long they had been walking for, but they could feel it getting late. Although both wouldn't mind sleeping together for the night in the room of requirement, neither would admit the fact to the other. Ron was already yawning, and Hermione looked more nervous than ever (being a prefect, she wanted to set an example by being the first in the Gryffindor common room).

Ron looked up and noticed an empty shining silver box labeled _Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans: Collectable Flavors_. His eyes grew wider and he grinned uncontrollably.

"Hermione! I know where we are!"

"What, how can you possibly tell?"

"Look, up there on top of the bicycle."

Ron pointed and Hermione saw the empty candy box, but didn't understand.

"What?" she asked.

"I've seen that box when I used to come in here and snog with Lavender Bro-"

Ron had stopped himself. He knew that he was about to pay for what he just said since Hermione hatted the name and shunned him every time he said it.

"Come on, finish your sentence. Snogging with Lavender who?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"Lavender – uh – Lavender Brown's – uh – pet. It was a – uh – weird phase," Ron knew what he said was stupid and didn't even make sense.

"Right," Hermione paused, "Her pet."

Hermione was obviously angry at Ron, but there was also a slight hint that she was disappointed with him. Quickly looking to repair his maimed situation, Ron pointed ahead and said, "We need to go about sixty steps that way and make a left turn at the seventeen legged stool. Exit'll be on the right."

Ron waited for Hermione to move. She shook her head and walked forward, but Ron stood still. Hermione turned around and looked confused.

"Come on Ronald, don't you want some dinner scraps? You're probably starving by now."

"Hermione, can I ask you a question?"

She looked at Ron and was about to say _no_, but he continued anyway, determined to say what he meant to say.

"What did you see? In the box, I mean."

Hermione caught what she was about to say and turned pink. _"Don't say it! Don't say it! Don't say 'You'_" she repeated in her head. There was no way out of the situation; she had to give an answer. Even the know-it-all Hermione Jean Granger couldn't escape from the verbal trap that Ron had set up around her.

"Voldemort. Killing – er –Harry," she said without confidence in her voice.

"Granger, that's the most pathetic lie I've _ever_ seen," Ron said in a more friendly tone.

Hermione had her back against the wall. Ron might not have been the brightest student at Hogwarts, but he could sort out the liars from the truth-tellers.

"But that's what I saw. W…why would I lie?"

She could hear herself failing trying to lie her way out of Ron's question.

"Ok, how `bout a leap of faith. Like to hear what I saw?"

Hermione felt more comfortable, and Ron could see it.

"A spider."

"Good, but not that good. The spider changed into something different. Keep guessing."

"Being in the chamber of secrets?"

"No."

"Waiting for Harry to come out of the maze in the tri-wizard tournament?"

"No."

"But, what can be more nerve-racking that that?"

"You," Ron said inexorably.

"_Me_?" Hermione sounded offended. "_I'm_ you biggest fear!"

Ron was nervous now, but held together.

"It was you trying to tell me that you hate me. That you-," Ron was whispering now in shyness, "that you don't l…love me."

Hermione was awestruck. Not only did she ever expect her dream man to say those words to her, but she was amazed at how similar their encounters with the box had been.

"A…a…are you sure," Hermione asked frightened.

"Hay, because you were told the same thing about me, right?"

Ron knew that he had gambled on his last statement and was worried how Hermione would react. But his investment paid off in the form of a smiling Hermione who walked over to him and said, "Yes."

They instantly kissed, first smoothly, and then roughly. Both of them felt their knees shake and didn't pull away. With eyes closed, they wrapped their arms around each other, warming the other. Neither had felt more warmth in their entire lives. Ron, having so much experience with Lavender, was the better of the two, but neither cared. Just as long as they were together for that moment was enough.

Ron's fingers ran through Hermione's thick brown curls while Hermione's felt Ron's untamed red hair. Time melted like their worries. All that mattered was the kiss. All that mattered was the way they moved their mouths in harmony. All that mattered was the moment, which seemed like an eternity in a heartbeat. Neither wanted to let the other go, but they abruptly parted.

However great the kiss felt, they still needed to breath.

They stared at each other, not knowing what to say next. Hermione took Ron's hand and started walking.

After sixty steps and a left at the seventeen legged stool, they found the door, just as Ron had explained earlier.

Before turning the handle, Hermione turned.

"Ron, why did you ask me what I saw back there?" she asked.

Ron smiled and looked down into her eyes.

"Because I didn't want to see you leave me alone, again."

_**FIN**_


End file.
